Page 123 of Perfect Rhythm

Shade looked like he wanted to challenge me, but he couldn’t. He knew I was right. Their crossing paths tonight was a recipe for disaster.

“You know what? Fine,” Shade said, throwing his hands up. “I’ll stay out of it. If he gets himself killed, his blood won’t be on my hands.”

“Exactly.”

Finally, one of the security guys reached for Mecca’s arm, but he jerked away before the guard could get a grip, shrugging him off and turning toward the door with a dismissive glare.

I let out a quiet sigh, annoyed by his little show, then turned to Shade. “Before we go, I’m going to stop by the bathroom.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you.”

I pressed my hand against his chest. “Relax, I’m not going to do anything stupid. I promise.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wow, so little faith.” I laughed.

“In this situation, you’re damn right. I have no faith at all.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. “Fine. You can come with me. But you have to wait outside while I pee. Unless...” I raised a brow and slid my arms around his neck. “You want to lock the door and do something else.”

“Oh, so that’s what we’re on now? You do realize we’re in public, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Which means people can see us, and bloggers are probably taking hundreds of photos of us right now?”

“Let them take all the photos they want. I don’t even care anymore.”

“Damn, okay.”

I couldn’t stop staring at him. Every part of me was buzzing with emotions I couldn’t name. But all of them felt right. The way he didn’t hesitate to shut everything down just to protect me? It did something to me. I didn’t care who was watching. I didn’t care what people had to say. I didn’t even care about the risk I was taking by giving him my heart. I just wanted to hold on to the way he made me feel and enjoy the moment.

But first...I had to pee.

“Okay, sorry,” I said as I started to bounce a little. “I definitely gotta go.”

“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs.

Mecca still hadn’t left the building. He was taking his sweet time dapping people up and saying his goodbyes.

“He’s so fucking extra,” I whispered.

“Couldn’t be me escorting his ass out,” Trace spoke behind us. “He would’ve been laid out on the concrete by now.”

I didn’t doubt that one bit. Once Trace made it clear that it was time to exit, that was the only option. It was simply get the fuck out before he put a bullet in your head or smash a fist into your skull.

“Looks like Noni G needs to be getting some new security,” Shade said while looking back at me.

I shrugged and looked over at Trace. “Maybe you should give her your card.”

“I don’t go looking for work. It finds me.”

Laughing, I sucked my teeth. “Oh, well, excuse me, big shot. I guess I forgot who I was talking to.”

“Yeah, I guess you did.”

Trace was such a smart ass. But I gave him a pass since he was a man with a gun, and pretty damn good at using it. Plus, I liked the way he had Shade’s back, and not just because he was paid to.